Unexpected
by Scanay
Summary: This ff starts at the beginning of the 3rd season, how Ren's and Yamato's relationship starts to change, why it has been how it was. And then someone steps in who holds an unexpected grudge against Yamato. Yamato has never been the one to give up, to show his weakness, but can he get out on his own? (RenxYamato) My first ff in english - please be nice
1. Chapter 1

Prolog

Ren hated Yamato. At least that was what he convinced himself of, and how it should be. And he had no reason to doubt it.

Until the day came, when he was falsely accused and arrested for the serial muggings.

He would never forget the strong flash of anger, the rush of adrenalin jolting through him and the little sting somewhere in his chest, for which he blamed the pure hate. He had expected something like that, he knew that Yamato had seen him that day, but he had hoped the bastard wouldn't give him away. Having spent the hours in the interrogation room making up ways of revenge, he wanted to make that dullhead pay for this betrayal. In their milieu you didn't have to be friends, you could even be arch enemies to regard this one rule – police was never involved.

He refused thinking whether he would have told the truth if an officer had asked him – it was about defenseless women after all. He also refused thinking about the reason for feeling so… disappointed. Yamato was his rival, they hated each other, and the bitter taste the thought of the traitor left in his mouth was everything but logical.

He really appreciated the effort this teacher seemed to make – anyway, he wished for some of his friends to hang in this for him, get him out of this shit. Maybe that was the reason for the sting in his chest, which he felt since he had been arrested?

He was so caught up in his thoughts, the officer had to shout at him to make him realise he could go home – home! His eyes went wide: 'the culprit was found?' 'Yes. Someone called us – that thief was quite badly beaten up… he confessed. Lucky one…' The last two words were directed towards him, but Ren chose to ignore them and leave as long as he could – he wouldn't spent another night in one of this uncomfortable chairs for insulting an officer. It was just like he told Yankumi – he had gotten used to it.

The way home seemed long. Longer than usual, for any doubts. When he finally sneaked in, the house was empty. Good fortune his sister was working. Maybe she wouldn't even have noticed any of the ruckus…

Having heard of Yankumis doings by Kuraki and Ichi, he thought that woman could not surprise him anymore.

However, this teacher was the one to wake him up in the morning and on top of that, stated Yamato was the one who found the culprit – got him out, proving his innocence – in that matter. His heart suddenly felt lighter, it started racing. His mind, en contraire, told him, that she was either kidding him, crazy, or both at the same time. He would probably go for the latter.

Why on earth should Yamato do such things for him? It was just surreal.

And then he sat there, supporting himself on the gate, obviously silently begrudging his injurys. Injurys? Did he get hurt catching the culprit, clearing his name? His heart skipped a beat. No way. And as Yamato said just seconds later: there was no way he would have done that for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

He had made it home. He didn't quite remember how, but when his alarm clock went off in the morning, he was lying in his bed. He faintly remembered the incidents of the night before, his bruises being a good backup.

The only thing making him feel a little better was the memory of his conversation with that weird teacher under the cherry trees. He cleared Rens name. The price was quite high, considering the marks, ranging from bloody red over purple to a faint yellow, but over short or long he would be right. Ren was fine, and that was all that mattered to him.

He knew he should not care, it was not like he went to the cops and gave Ren away. But even the thought of not seeing his "rival" staring at him gave him the creeps. He enjoyed their glaring duels in the morning and the competition. To be honest he enjoyed everything giving him a reason to look at Ren. It was harsh that this battle was the only way to it, to make Ren actually regard at him, make him care. As long as this battle went on, as long as the situation wasn't solved, Ren could not but care about him, think about him, talk to him, look at him. Yamato feared what would happen afterwards, but for now it was fine, and no one wondered when he glared at Ren, as long as he held his poker face up. He loved him.

He had tried to ignore it, to fight it, but at the end he had to accept it. He had never cared to much for girls, they were just to weak, to annoying and screechy, always opposite to his lifestyle, to fights and fun. Ren was anything but weak. He was strong, always up for a good fight or a good joke.

If his father ever found out, he would probably beat him until he was not able to keep himself upright anymore and then pay him a prostitute. If Ren found out, he would probably also beat him, or worse, ignore him, tell all school, make him pay for his dumb feelings. That's why he tried everything to be close to Ren, but far enough for anyone to notice. He became quite good with his Poker face.

The way to school seemed longer than usual, he was tired and so reluctant to meet the others, to be confronted with their questions, he allowed himself to sit down and relax a little at the gate.

"Hey Ogata! You're going to be late!" Yamato did not bother to look up. He did not care or duck in to this weird teacher just because that strange incident.

"You found the culprit, right?" That could not be him. How would he even know? Well the answer was standing next to them, grinning widely and making the situation for the two delinquents even more awkward, if that was possible.

If Ren knew why he joined in Yankumis search for the culprit so desperately, disregardful of the shit he had put himself in… He would not even condescend himself to value Yamato with a hating glare. The thought actually fueled his frustration and his fury enough, the words pouring out of him, he did not know them before he heard them: "It's not like it was for your sake." He looked up, longing to see Rens reaction to his words, "I still haven't settled things with you yet." His heart was beating so fast, it could have won any racing worldcup.

Ren just stared back, his expression hard and intransparent.

He hated this teacher for trying to reconcile them with each other. He tried so hard to hinder it. He challenged Ren, willing to fight the man he loved with all he had – if it would help keeping everything just as it was. As it was supposed to be. However, she got through to Ren, made him see that he was not an enemy. Damn she was right, but that didn't mean she could destroy everything he had build up with so much effort with just a snap of her fingers.

He was so angry, he was only looking for someone to enrage him, to be the final straw.

The guy bumping into him in the underpass did just as much.

He was no opponent, and Yamato knew he did no good beating him up. But he didn't expect the backlash as fast. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he ran right into the gang to which the guy whom he had just knocked out obviously belonged to. He was still achy from the fight against the mugger, but it wasn't like he really had a choice. He always stood up for the things he did. In addition he couldn't be weak with Kamiya and Honjou next to him, especially when it was his bad temper that got them into the trouble. He was a leader, he had to appear as one and, above all – there was no way anyone would ever be alloud to see his weak spots.

The bunch attacking the three of them had them separated in no time, minimizing their chances. He was pushed against a site fence, three of the thugs needed to keep him there, two beating and kicking him.

The sheer realization who came to their rescue, caused him to hesitate. However he was able to gather himself quickly enough to do what Ren said – run. He ran, trying to channel all the energy into his legs, the rage running trough his veins because of the feelings he held inside, all the love and all his fear, as well as the anger that he had to be saved, that Ren saw him weak.

Yamato began to think again right after he found himself slumped down right next to his secret love on the railing of the tiny bridge, not able to figure out wether his rapid heartbeat was caused by the running or by Ren's presence. He dared to look up, saw the view Ren gave him.

"You didn't get hurt, did ya?" "Na…" He mumbled. He would not let Ren think of him as weak. And would he care anyway? Did Ren actually care? Had he saved them to lay down the rivalry? Was his secret battle already lost? Or was it just to pay back the debt of Yamato getting him out of the police station?

Tossing and turning in his bed, he was barely able to sleep that night. What to do? Why couldn't he just stop loving that gorgeous, unbelievable strong, handsome bastard? A desperate snicker escaped his throat.

The next morning, he did his best to keep his disguise up, hiding his nervousness and it worked. He just was not sure if he could keep it on when Ren would show up.

But Ren did not show up. Instead, a classmate stormed into the classroom, shouting something about Ren and his friends being in trouble. His mask fell.

It was his fault that Ren was in trouble. If only he hadn't been so mindless, so captured by the possibility to find a outlet for some of his feelings.

He just yelled what came into his mind when he stood in the gate, seeing Ren and his friends on the ground already – the truth: "They had nothing to do with it! Don't ya dare lay hands on'em!"

The Leader of their opponents looked enraged: "Hilarious! They're your comrades!" "Not even close!", he did not even lie. Considering his opponents glare, his plan did work well – the words caught his attention, directed his anger towards him, away from Ren and his friends who were already lying on the floor. A strong feeling of guilt took over him once more.

"Don't ya dare making fun me",the thug screamed, and the whole gang sprinted towards the three of them.

Yamato actually felt sorry for Honjou and Kamiya as well. It was him who caused this mess and dragged everyone into it. Sure, they were outnumbered and, sure, they did not stand a chance. However, if Ren, Ichi and Kuraki wanted to flee, they could. Opposite to his expectations and, in a certain way, his hopes, they fought with them, fiercely trying to protect each other. He fought back to back with Ren for some time. He was a good partner in fight, Yamato acknowledged.

What brought him down was the leader, grabbing his jacket, bending him over, ramming his knee into the his stomach. A wave of nausea hit him and he doubled over. Ren fell to the ground at almost the same second, and the fact that the strong boy was so close to him, fighting with him eased the pain a bit. Having him by his side made Yamato able to stand the kicks and hits.

That teacher somehow saved them. She was good at speeches, Yamato noticed and wondered why exactly she was a math teacher. She stated what was so obvious, but it had to be said to silence their last instinctive tries to play it all down. The recent events had just fundamentally changed what they were, taking away the barrier between the trios, which were build up by rivalry. With the blink of an eye they had become a sextet.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi there^^. After a little bit of thinking I decided this rating would be enough. By the way, this is where the story really starts, so I would be really happy about reviews telling me whether to go on, as this is not the story that I originally wanted to put on. The other story is lost and If I get it back (it's still on paper) I will post it, but for now this one has to do. Cheers

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It was rough on Yamato. His usual cold mask just didn't work with Ren, he either saw through it or tricked him – he even got him to join them to a Goukon! He had never been in as many awkward situations in such a short time. And he had neither ever been as happy, nor had he had as much fun.

Ren opening him up, being just as he imagined, getting closer to him as any of his friends had before, made it only harder for him to keep his feelings hidden. The wish to come out and the fear of Rens reactions kept him up at night.

And even if he would not totally freak out at the idea of a boy loving him, how could someone as great as Ren ever love back someone like him? Someone so completely different to all of his other friends, someone as opposite to him, the always smiling, happy Ren, who cared so much about his friends, love such a cold egoist as he was when not even his parents could love him?

In fights, he always took on the leaders, trying to prove his strength and to protect Ren at the same time. However, the insomnia pulled at his resources. His father constantly bringing him down was of no help. His mother couldn't really speak up against him, though Ogata senior didn't beat him when she was around. Sometimes Yamato wondered whether she would speak up if she was there, if she knew.

"Ne, Yamato, you look like shit." Frowning, Yamato turned towards Kamiya. "Thank you. It's always so pleasant to talk to you." "Yamato, for real, every girl in town will be envying you for being so pale. Only one thing – the eyeliner: You know, you have to paint your upper eyelids with it. Don't draw circles underneath" "Tsssk."

They were skipping school. The first hot days of May had begun, the sun was just on the edge of being to strong to enjoy the long stroll through the city before entering their usual game center.

The others had overheard their little dispute, joining in to tease him as they entered the alleyway, a shortcut they always took – everyone but Ren. The slightly taller boy walking next to him glared at him out of the corner of his eye. The expression seemed somehow worried, like an *I-knew-it-all-along*.Yamato looked away, ignoring the words of Kuraki, Honjou, Ichi and Kamiya and avoiding Rens eye, instead he pretended to be very interested in a candleshop they had just passed by.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw the attack coming, yanking Ren out of the line by his sleeve, causing the attacker to stumble into himself, both of them falling to the floor. The guy, about his age but apparently spending far more of his time eating than Yamato, crashed down right on top of him. Yamato fell onto his back, all air being forced out of his lungs at once he was stunned for some seconds. "Yamato!" Rens voice rang in his ears. Using Yamato's shock, the thug got to his knees to smash his fist into Yamatos face, causing the back of his head to collide with the tarred floor. When Yamato was finally able to shove the guy off him, knock him out and lift himself up, he knew why none of the others had helped him. The coward was obviously a gang member, a group of 15 keeping his friends occupied. His eye rings were the smallest problem now, the corner of his mouth torn, his nose bleeding, his head pounding.

Yamato threw himself right into the fight, trying to get through to Ren who was apparently circled by five of these assholes, kicking some of the attackers to the ground on his way through the crowd.

Two arms yanked him around before he could reach and help his friend though, a knee bound for his torso hit its target with strength, making him cough, nausea rising up in his throat. "Fucker!" He shoved the idiot away and landed a high kick on his opponents shoulder, making the idiot stumble out of his way. Yamato looked around, saw his friends struggling and could not decide anymore whom to help first. The three seconds he stood still were enough to collect his own group of assaulters arround him,shoving him around. The others were struggling to, he could catch glimpses of Kamiyas feet being kicked away underneath him, Kuraki being shoved into a kick into his side and Honjou's hand twisted on his back forcing him to received some mean hits into his face before he was pushed to the ground. Yamato could not see how they got Ichi down as he had to defend himself in apparently the very same moment.

Soon enough only he and Ren were left standing, struggling, still kicking guys down themselves, but as soon as the ones joined in that had been occupied with their friends moments ago, they did not stand a chance. Somebody gripped Ren by the collar of his red shirt, Yamato could only see it in a blur, and just yanked him to the ground, face smashing forward. Ren's groan sounded terribly nasal and it distracted Yamato long enough to give one of the asshole the opportunity to slip behind him and land a stroke to his kidney. The pain exploded and dark spots danced in front of his eyes and he exhaled sharply. His hits were getting sluggish, he started tumbling. Someone gripped the shoulderpiece of his jacket, holding him firmly in place, just to hit him right into his face and shove him to the next one. They passed him around some time until he was finally shoved to the floor.

A foot was placed on his back and someone spoke up. "Now, who of you pathetic wimps is Ogata Yamato?" Yamato flinched. Was it his fault that his friends were in trouble? Again?

He heard a dull thud, the sound of someone being kicked, and a moan he recognized immediately as Kamiyas. "Answer, ya little bastards, or all of ya'll have the shit kicked out of them!" Yamato raised his head, trying to push himself up, but he was kicked down by the foot again, causing the skin of his chin to gash open and start bleeding. He saw Ren, who was hold to the floor quite similar to him shaking his head, telling him to keep silent.

However, as Kamiya moaned for the second time, he could not hold back. He lifted his head from the ground as far as he could: "I'm Ogata, ya bastard! Whatya want? Leave 'em alone!" He yelled and struggled to get up. He saw legs approaching him, and then he felt a burning pain close to his spine.

White exploded in front of his eyes and then everything went black.

He did not really came to his senses immediately, his sight was more than blurry, he did not know where he was, neither why he was or who he was.

When the fog surrounding him lifted again, he found himself on the floor of thing like old garage, his hands tied together tightly on his back, his head pounding and a nauseous feeling in his throat. He shifted a little, sitting up, supporting himself on the metal shelf he was leaning against, which caused the world to spin and he had to swallow the bile down again to prevent himself from vomiting. He tried tearing on the ropes that kept his hands in place, but only felt the thin cable cutting into his wrist and tightening. A sigh escaped his lips. That was definitely not how he had imagined his day to emerge. His father would give him hell for being late for dinner. What time was it, anyway? The room was completely dark apart from some sunrays floating in through gaps between wooden planks that were nailed over what appeared to once have been a window.

He felt so tired and exhausted, nearly sinking back to sleep again with his eyes shut when he heard footsteps approaching him. He opened his eyes making out a guy, wearing all black, slightly older than himself, and what appeared to be his bodyguards entering through a heavy steel door, which had the sealed window in it. The sudden daylight stung in his eyes and he had to blink several times before he could make out more than shapes. 'Strange', Yamato thought when he finally could. He could think of many reasons to hate him and take revenge, he could think of many people who would rather see him dead, but he would swear he had never seen this face before.

"You finally awake." It was not a question, so Yamato did not feel the urge to answer. A sharp kick into his ribcage taught him better. "Whatta ya want from me?" he bursted with anger. The glare his captor gave him could have easily decreased the temperature by at least 10 degrees."You would not know, would you, you spoiled brat." Yamatos eyes widened with disbelief. From all the insults people threw in his direction, no one head ever called him spoiled before. A disbelieving chuckle escaped his lips, instantly followed by anther kick in his stomach, leaving him even more nauseous and breathless once again.

"Don't ya dare looking down on me. Must be a nice life with a well earning father…" He struggled to go back to his normal breathing, reacting with but an lifted eyebrow. What the heck would that bastard know.

"Fine, I am going to tell you. Your asshole father…", Yamato could only support that opinion, "…killed my little brother." The face glaring down to him pulled into a painful grimace and Yamatos heartbeat sped up. His throat was dry and pictures of his father hitting the shit our of him came up in front of his eyes. "How?" Yamato could not really recognize his own voice, it was hollow and rough, so tired. "My brother applied to the school your father works at. Your father took the entrance he accused Hiro… He accused him to cheat! My Otoutou would NEVER cheat! He worked so hard to get in this school, he studied day and night. When he was refused he… He committed suicide." Silence fell over them. Ogata nodded warily and waited before he raised his voice again. "My condolence. However: Why am **I** here?" "Are you stupid?!", his opposite yelled enraged and gave him another fiercely paining kick to his side. "I am taking revenge on your father! I am holding you for a ransom. Making him fear to lose one of the most precious things in HIS life! Cause if he doesn't do what I tell him to…" and the thug was now showing a mischievous smirk again, leaning closer to Yamato and pulling him up by his brown locks until Yamato could smell his bad breath, " He'll never see you again." And with that he shoved Yamato hard against the metal shelf and they left, not bothering to look back once. He heard them locking the door from the outside twice.

Yamato did not know whether to laugh or to cry. All he knew was that his father would not pay any money to get him out of trouble. He had to get out here on his own. If Ren would be here, they might have…' Stop it', he scolded himself in his thoughts. Ren was not here. He was alone and no one could help him. Not even Ren.

He waited a little to be sure that they would not return, then forced his strained body upright again looking around for other doors and any sharp edges, anything he could use to get rid of the wires tying his hands together.

There was a big, garage like opening which was shut firmly and was probably electric. No way he could open it. Maybe, if he could free his hands, he could tear the wooden planks from the window. Window. There had to be glass splinters, it did not look like the garage had been cleaned within the last couple of years.

He shifted to his knees and concentrated, before he got to his feet with a jump. Dizziness and nausea took his vision and again he was more than thankful for the support of the shelf. When the worst was over, he took some unsteady steps towards the door. He leaned against the wall and searched the floor with his right foot until he heard the sound of glass scratching over the concrete. His heart raced as he slowly sank to the floor, using the wall to support him and turned around, reaching for the glass with his hands. Finally it was in his tight grasp, he turned it, ignoring the sharp edges cutting into the soft flesh of his palms, concentrated to get it to an angle to cut the wires, using it like a saw. It felt like ages before the first wire finally gave in, but he could tear the rest apart now, leaving his wrists sore with bleeding cuts and scratches, but he just did not have enough patience, and he had to expect these idiots to come back every second.

Yamato threw the wires aside in a rush, sliding the piece of glass in the back pocket of his trousers, starting to prove the wood and the nails on their stability, tearing, ripping and hanging on to them with all his force and weight, but they did not give in. Swearing under his breath, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, taking another concentrated look around in the darkness, searching for any tools, anything to make a way out of his prison. This was a garage, damn it, there had to be something. He stomped frustrated into the darkness, back to the metal shelf he had been leaning on, searching the surfaces with his hands.

He froze when he heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

His mind was racing. He was to slow. Damn this. How? Why?! In the last second before the door opened he tried to regain the posture in which they had left him. Maybe they would not notice, that he got rid of his restrains…

The heavy door was forced open, the daylight blinding him once again.

The grumpy guy in the doorway, one of the bodyguards whose face somehow remembered him of a gorilla, held a glass with water – or at least a clear liquid in it in one hand and a slice of dry bread in the other. "Dinner", he grumbled. He moved closer to Yamato, set the glass on the floor, placing a straw inside and then he held the piece of bread under Yamatos nose. Yamato blinked in confusion, until the bread forced into his mouth and he understood that he was being fed. Anger swelled in his chest. For gods sake, no. He would not let himself be humiliated by something like that. His pride was stronger than his hunger, which wasn't as bad, anyway. He had had a good breakfast. Furious, he turned his head away, spitting on the floor next to the ape. He just could not control his bad temper. With an angry growl the man fisted his hair and yanked his head around.

It was a reflex, nothing more, but he couldn't stop his own hands from shooting to his head, gripping the hand that was causing the pain. The hand did let go immediately, though the yell of the ape for his comrades, told him that he was in trouble now. Even more trouble. God, he seemed to have a misfortune magnet in his pockets these days. Yamato jumped to his feet, trying to use the moment of surprise, hoping that he might be fast enough to get away, and two good aimed punches and a kick did send the gorillaface sprawling over the floor, and Yamato rushed to the door, only to run directly into the fist of his fuming captivator. The hit landed right in his right eye, making him stagger backwards and right into the arms of he gorilla face, who was on his feet again and obviously not very happy with the teenager, as he twisted Yamatos arms on his back violently, so that the smaller boy had to bend forward to prevent a dislocation of his shoulders.

"You are only causing trouble, you know? First we have to search hours for you with the only hint that you are one of a group of six highschoolbrats from Akadou, then you and your friends put up a hell of a fight and now you even try to escape. I would prefer to tell your father you're mainly unharmed, but you have to understand…", he lifted Yamatos chin with one finger, " You don't leave me a choice." And with that, he took some paces back, rose his leg and kicked full force into Yamatos face. Dark spots exploded in front of his eyes and he felt his a searing pain and he was quite sure that the bone under his left eye was broken. At least the guy holding him did let go of his arms, shoving him forward, right into the arms of another guy. He was pushed and kicked around, pain slowly taking over his senses. When they were tired of holding him up to beat the shit out of him, he fell to the ground, and they continued kicking until another blow to his head mercifully did send him into the soft, luring blackness of unconsciousness.

Ren swore out of breath, only interrupted by his own pants. He had no idea where to search. After these damned thugs took Yamato away they had knocked all of them out with the very same taser they had used on Yamato and apparently dragged them into a dark corner of the little alleyway the fight took place in. When they finally had gained conciousness again, there had been no trace, neither of the thugs nor of Yamato, apart from Yamatos Cellphone lying on the ground next to them. They split up, agreeing on giving each other a ring if they found anything. When! When, not if, he reminded himself. It was not like Tokyou was that big – an ironic chuckle escaped his throat.

They would meet in their bar 8 pm in any case, and he knew it was getting close, he should turn around and head for the bar now, but he couldn't… it almost felt like giving up.

"Kuseee!", He screamed in anger, smashing his fist into the closest wall, bruising his knuckles. He was worried sick. This assholes had looked for Yamato, so not even the place they had been attacked at was a hint. If they could just figur out why he had been taken. On one hand, they all had bunches of people after them, looking for revenge, on the other hand, non of them would ever use tasers to knock them out. They rather handled metalpipes and brass knuckles.

The structure in the attack was what frightened Ren the most. When had one of them ever been taken. It was against all odds. And why did it have to be his Yamato? Wait, his? What was he thinking. He didn't have time for that, now. He turned around, trying to convince himself that from now on they would be more efficient as a team. Maybe one of them had even found a hint a trace and they were just waiting for him – Ren started running again.

He stormed into the bar, startling his friends, and he knew his hopes were betrayed when he saw their sulky faces. "Did you have any luck?", Kamiya asked him, a frown on his face. Ren shook his head, slumping down on the chair next to them. "This sucks!", Kuraki wailed, "We did not find anything at all! How can this shit happen? I mean that's not our usual stuff – that was criminal!" Kamiya chuckled, sounding a little desperate: "Kura stop the rambling. What we do is criminal, too, you know?" Kura pouted. "Right guys. Lets focus. We have been attacked by someone, out of nowhere, without aggravation by one of us and they knocked us out with tasers. They were apparently looking for Yamato and no one else. And they took him. somewhere in Tokyou. a town with over 9 million inhabtitants…" "Shut it, asshole!", Honjou yelled. "Stop making it look senseless to try and…" "I am just stating facts!", Ichi roared back. "Shut it! Both of you!" Ren stopped the quarrel. "We need to work together if we want to have a chance." Ren rubbed his right temple. "Maybe… maybe we should call Yankumi", Kura muttered hesitantly. "Yankumi?" Ren raised his eyebrows, "And how exactly could she help us?" "Well, as Kura said: it feels like there is more behind this than usually…" "And we would have to tell her tomorrow in school, anyway", Honjou helped Ichi. "Somebody should tell his parents, too", Kamiya sighed. Ren nodded, fishing his cellphone out of his pocket and searching for his teachers number. He explained what happened to her in as little words as he could. She said she would come over immediately. He tried to sit down with the rest of them, tried to relax, but he stood up again, pacing through the small room, sitting down once more, standing up again, pacing till: "Ren stop this shit. You're driving me freaking nuts!" he was friendly reminded that his friends were worried, too. So he sat down. "Ren, baka yarou! Stop the tapping already!" Tapping? Oh. He was tapping. As Yankumi arrived he felt like a wreck. A glare to the clock on the wall told him that they had waited only 20 minutes. 20 Minutes more for Yamato in the hands of this strange guys. 20 minutes more in which who knows what could have happened. He was going crazy.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi there, I am finally back from summer holidays, many days with wonderful flights but without internet. Ia want to thank my only reviewer very much! You are the only reason I post again. The holidays also gave me time to write. The following chapters will be shorter than the last one, but I'll try to post on a more regular basis now, even though I am moving to a new city in next month. Enjoy^^

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He was swimming in this swamp, vaguely noticing someone putting a glass to his lips, making him drink something that tasted awkward, but he did not have the energy to question why somebody made him drink, least where he was and why.

When he resurfaced again, realization came gradually. He forced his eyes open, without idea how long he had been unconscious, but it was day, he heard birds singing.

Well, that had gone terribly wrong. The pain was still fierce, in a dulling way appearing to wrap his whole body, the most present and therefore worst being his left eye, swollen shut and stinging, some of his ribs definitely broken, hurting with every breath and causing him to force the air out with an wheezing sound every time he exhaled. Every movement, however little, hurt like hell. He was vulnerable like never before, weak, defenseless. There was nothing he could do but wait. Wait for someone to find him. He had to be saved, like a damsel in distress. Shit. He could not believe his thoughts. He could even remember that he dreamt of Ren coming to save him – and kissing him after he confessed his love to Yamato. He was just about to answer when he woke up. Holy crap, he was going mad. Did he have more courage in his dreams than in real live?

The door opened, the big brother stepped in. "Hey, our sleeping beauty is finally back on earth!", he laughed. Yamato could not believe the ridicule, defending himself in the only way he could think of: He spat on him. The answer was an angry growl and the huge figure soon kneeled in front of him, shaking him by his collar, making his head swim in dizziness and exaggerating all the pain. "Why can't you just be a good boy and stop messing around? I'd really rather not kill you, but if you want to get out of here alive, you better watch your manners! Who should find you here? Who would even look for you? You can't escape by any chance – not anymore, that's for sure. You are a weak, useless bastard, apparently not worth enough for your own father to pay your ransom. So just give up the fight and give us some peace!"

If that vengeful bastard had known what his words triggered, he would have kept his mouth shut. However he did not, and if Yamato had one rule, it was to never give up. EVER! The new fighting spirit dwelled in him and exploded his chest as soon as the door fell shut.

It was not at all like him, Yamato rather just did what came to his mind, but this one time his brain actually worked out that nothing but patience could get him out of here. Cause in a way that asshole was right: another try to escape like that would lead him nowhere but by chance into his grave, and that was not exactly his planned destination. So he had to throw all his instincts over. He had to wait. To watch. To find a mistake. One more thing – he had just noticed that he had given up something else: His love to Ren. He had given up from the very moment he realized that he was in love, from the very beginning, even worse: even before anything could start. What did he care if he turned his back on him after the confession if he already was a loser by not telling him? When he got out of here alive - or should he rather say if? – he would tell him.

After working that out, his brain decided to take a rest and he fell asleep – exhausted and in pain, but full of new determination.

Two days passed by. They came in pairs, one feeding him, one silently watching. They only gave him a bowl of soup to eat a day, leaving his stomach grumbling, but at least it was something, so he took the humiliation of being fed. It was so hard for him not to rush his plans, with the shard always poking in his lower back and reminding him that there was a chance, even though it did not quite work out as planned the last time.

On the third day however, his patience was rewarded. The guard who accompanied the guy bringing him his soup left an iron bar behind. He had carried it with him to the room, and as he went to help shifting him so he could drink, he leaned it right next to the door and apparently forgot about it.

That was his chance! Fuck damsel in distress. He was a men, the leader of Akadou, a damn strong fighter. He would prove it to them! His sides had gotten better, too, at least he could move by now without being in agony.

Suppressing any sounds of pain as he stretched and twisted to finger the shard that would hopefully save him out of his back pocket, lingering for one second or two to listen if anything was close or moving. There where voices, but they seemed far away, like someone was arguing. That just might be his chance! When his kidnappers were fighting, they hopefully were distracted enough for him to escape. He sliced his bindings, shooting up and clinging to the shelf behind him as stars invaded his vision and his legs nearly gave out on him – no wonder after sitting like that for so long.

He stumbled around, patting the wall for the bar, and there it was. He wrapped his fingers around the cool, even surface, and the adrenalin came rushing in once again. Shakily he edged the bar into the planks, using it like a crowbar. Once. Twice. With all his might. He wanted to breath. He wanted water. He wanted Ren, for gods sake. Swiping the sweat from his face, he inhaled deeply before throwing his weight on the iron bar once more. Finally the plank cracked. He bended the wood, managing to twist one half pointing down, as only one nail held it up. The gap was big enough to get his arm through. He squeezed further, patting the outside of the door to find the lock, praying… the key stuck from the outside!

Grunting in exasperation, he unlocked it, his sweaty and bloody fingers slipping from the key as it hit resistance. He took time, too much time, being nervous, shaky, till the door finally snapped open. He pulled his arm out of the opening quickly, collecting even more cuts and splinters, but he did not care. Outside. Air, life, breath, light – he stumbled and was greeted by the setting sun. He looked onto a concrete wall, only one and a half meters ahead of him, a little flowerbed blooming in front of it, a flight of stairs leading up to the backdoor of a house to the left and one down to the street on the right.

He wanted to rush down, however he noticed that the noise came from there the street – there was no backing out now. Maybe he could climb over the wall, into their neighbour's garden? He rushed to the wall, trying to find grip, but it was too late. Two guys with the look of bulldozers rushed up the stairs. When they saw him they stopped still, unbelieving and startled. Yamato used that moment to take a swing at the closer ones head with the bar, but he staggered over some flowers and only hit him hard on the shoulder, the bar flying away. The thug wailed loudly, clutching his arm, stumbling into the other one, what gave Yamato enough time to land a kick in his stomache, sending him flying dow the stairs and crashing into the gate, where he lay still for now. Yamato wasn't given quite enough time to enjoy the victory, when the other one growled, gripped him by his collar and shoved him against the wall. "You! Making trouble again! Now you're gonna pay!"

*Shitshitshitshitshit* He couldn't believe he had messed it up once more. Now he was going to die. He was quite sure of it, considering how that asshole started on him, throwing a punch on his already injured eye. He crumbled to the floor, it felt like the left half of his face was burning, melting… Another kick made him crush into the stonewall, and, oh god, air…. He could not breathe, he needed air. The world seemed to evaporate around him, only schemes moving around him. He was sinking into his dream world again, he knew it, for someone shouted his name and that someone was surely Ren, cradling him up into his arms, calling his name. What a nice dream. Maybe he wouldn't wake up anymore, now, that would be wonderful, right? But he had to do something, he had made the promise to himself. "I… love you, Ren", he whispered, then he was dragged deeper into the swamp of unconsciousness again, where he did not dream, where he just existed.

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Oh, and before I forget it - I can stand criticism, so, please, reviews? (*w*)


	5. Chapter 5

Hi there! As mentioned before the following chapters will be shorter. however I finally managed to figure out how to end the story, it will be probably two more chapters after this. Thanks a lot to the reviewers! I am really happy! Enjoy^^

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Yamato had been gone for four days. Four incredibly long days.

Yankumi had tried, making many, really weird phone calls, but in the end she couldn't find anything. He went through the happenings of this day so often, he lost count, trying to remember something that could help them find him.

The days in school were silent for him. Usually he would make fun with his friends, but all he did now was to stare on Yamato's deserted chair. Fuck this shit!

They were even to depressed to go out after school, so he just went straight home, throwing his bag into one corner, his jacket into another one and himself on his bed.

His ringing cellphone woke him up. It was Kura, he was out of breath and whispered, nearly not understandable. "What was that, Kura?",he grumbled sleepily into his phone. "I said: I think I recognized the voice of one of the kidnappers in a Kombini and they said stuff that sounds like they're who we're looking for. I am following them now. Call up the others, will you?" Ren was awake in a second, nearly choking when he missswallowed. He rushed Kura to give him the location, grabbed his jacket and started running, calling the others on the move. No matter how little the chance was, there was no time to lose.

The five of them met at Kuraki's and went on from there, phoning Yankumi on the way. Ren, still half asleep, had forgotten how useful their teacher turned out to be in past situations. They really didn't know what to expect anyway. He just hoped they were not armed.

When they caught up with Kuraki, the usually goofy boy told them distressed how he overheard the two guys talking about 'the brat being naughty', and 'hard to know how long he would make it' in the kombini. On the one hand it assured them that they were on the right track, on the other hand it sounded like Yamato wasn't too well off. It wasn't that much off a surprise, but the lump in his throat grew even bigger. They went after the kidnappers immediately.

The five had them cornered in no time, dragging them into a shady alleyway to post an example on one, convincing the other to talk. It took them some time till they got a vivid description of the way and the house, as well as Yamato's location in a garage with a little side entrance.

The exercise of 'posting an example', in other words beating one into a pulp while Honjou and Kamiya held the other one against a wall and shouting at him, had calmed Ren down a bit.

In spite of the cooperation received, they came to the conclusion it was for the better if they would knock both of the thugs out, so they could not warn their friends. Ren thought any doubts in this plan really out of place, considering what they had done to Yamato, but Ichi was not as convinced. He just ended the discussion about 'how to treat prisoners of war' by knocking the still conscious one out.

They texted Yankumi the new destination and hid in the little park opposite to said house behind some bushes.

The waiting drove Ren nuts. Why did Yankumi take the lead as soon as she turned up and tell them to get an 'image of the situation'? It was about a friends life, his best friends life to be precise, and any more minute without Yamato was nearly killing him. Right, she mentioned the possibility of threats to Yamato's life that could be caused by any rash actions.

Suddenly there was a stir. The back door opened and two guys exited. "They are well organized", whispered Yankumi, "They are always moving in teams." One was carrying a tablet with a bowl and a glass, the other an iron bar. Ren gulped. If they were going to hurt his Yamato…

But they came out little more than 10 minutes later, bowl and glass now stacked. Short time later Someone bolted out of the front door, rushing down to the street while arguing with two guys who were following him. They heard yells, some more guys gathered on the street. Ren could make out some words – 'Hiromi (a name) gave us away…' And Ren lost his temper – surely the two thugs they had caught would have woken up by now and warned their comrades. Why didn't he think of taking their cellphones? It was so stupid to be waiting when they could have been taking their advantage of an surprise attack! He would not miss his last opportunity to ambush them at least half unprepared. He jumped up and ran into the crowd with a fighting yell, knowing that his friends would not be too far behind him. He didn't care if Yankumi would help or not, all he could think of was Yamato, Yamato's rare but thus even higher valued smiles and laughs, Yamato sulking, angry, hitting the shit out of someone, being hit, a taser knocking him out, Yamato being pulled away…

His fist collided with a face and then a stomach, he kicked, shoved and punched this assholes who took his Yamato away from him for whatever reason, he didn't give a shit, he just wanted his Yamato back by his side, cause that was where he belonged, goddamnit!

The battle wasn't going too bad, Yankumi did help them after a short delay when she couldn't believe her students really did this, but their opponents were strong and it would take them time. In the middle of the brawl he saw two men rushing up the stairs to the side entrance out of the corner of his eye. He fought his way to the stairs, recognizing one of the men knocked out at the bottom, leaning against the gate. Ren looked up just in time to see how Yamato was kicked against the wall, sinking to the floor. One second Ren stood there, his heart missing a beat, shocked and in a strange way happy to see his friend alive, his stomach doing something that felt like a salto. He made short work of the other guy, two punches to the face and a kick to the solar plexus which send the man stumbling backwards into the garage through the still open backdoor did the job. He locked the door with a quick movement, just in case, took a deep breath to turn around.

"**Yamato**!" Ren fell to his knees next to the wheezing Yamato, gathering him up into his arms. The extent of the injuries made him gasp. The left half of Yamato's face was badly swollen, there were some dried blood stains under his nose and his eye. His shirt had suffered, too. It was covered with dirt and blood, the collar was torn and one of his sleeves was shredded, the skin underneath damaged, too, the blood running down his hand and dripping to the floor, the ragged breath was probably caused by some broken ribs…

"Oi, Yamato." Ren pleaded while he shifted him so his left arm was wound around his shoulders to hold him up while his right hand carefully cupped the swollen cheek, only feather-light touching the bruised skin - Yamatos good eye fluttered open for one second and the injured smiled his cute, crooked smile as he seemed to recognize Rens face. His mouth opened, "I… love you, Ren.", he said.

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Uuuuh, did I just finish with something like a cliffhanger? So sorry! Cheers!


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